


Beginnings

by strauberry23



Series: Hogwarts AU [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Can be read on its own, F/M, Fluff and Angst, and how they grow as people, describes the development of their relationship throughout Hogwarts, prequel to my hogwarts au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:02:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strauberry23/pseuds/strauberry23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before they became Kwami, Tikki and Plagg were miraculous holders and students at Hogwarts just like Adrien and Marinette, and they were the ones who fought Hawkmoth the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> all info about my hogwarts au can be found on my tumblr here: http://agreste-dupain-cheng.tumblr.com / hogwarts_au

**Year 1**

~~~

“Is your hair real?”

The eleven year old girl turned around to see a boy her age, with black hair and bright green eyes, staring at her. Or rather, staring at her hair. 

“What?” she asked, baffled by such a strange question.

“Your hair,” the boy repeated, stepping a little closer. “Is it real?”

Tikki reached up to touch a strand of her bright red hair. “Yes it is.”

The boy nodded, satisfied by her answer. “It looks cool.”

“Thanks,” she said in reply, but the boy had already walked away and slipped into the crowd on Platform 9 3/4.

Tikki stared after him, very confused about the whole exchange. That boy was very strange. 

~~~

_“GRYFFINDOR!”_

Tikki smiled as the Sorting Hat was pulled off of her head, stepping off the dais and  heading toward the cheering house table. She sat down next to another girl in her year, each exchanging names before falling silent to watch the rest of the ceremony.

Towards the middle her mind drifted off. She had been one of the first ones to get sorted, and now that all of the excitement was wearing off she found herself getting sleepy. It had been a very eventful day, and she was feeling it. 

“Hey red,” she heard a voice say.

Tikki was brought out of her thoughts as the boy from the station sat next to her with a crooked smile. She looked briefly up to the dais, and found that the sorting was over. He must’ve been one of the last ones.

“Did you just call me red?” she asked the boy.

“Yeah, and can you blame me?” he said, gesturing to her hair. “Plus, I don’t know your name, so what else was I supposed to call you?”

“My name is Tikki,” she said, holding out a hand for him to shake. He did. 

“Plagg.” 

“Well _Plagg,”_ she said, pulling her hand away, “are you gonna stop calling me red now?”

“Nope,” he said with a smirk. “It fits too well.”

She huffed, and was glad when the headmaster started to speak. Tikki turned to look and so did Plagg, but not before he winked at her. 

She groaned internally. She was going to have a long seven years ahead of her. 

~~~

Tikki was very eager to learn how to fly. She stood in a row with the other Gryffindor first years along with the ones from Slytherin, almost bouncing on her toes in her excitement. 

Once the professor explained everything he released them all to go practice on their own. Tikki took her broom and found an empty area nearby. She mounted her broom and got ready to take off when a very familiar voice stopped her.

“If you get any more excited,” Plagg said while walking up to her, “you’re gonna slide right off your broom.”

“And what do _you_ know about flying?” she accused with a glare, readjusting her grip.

Plagg set the bushy end of the broom on the ground and leaned his hands on the other, rising his chin atop his hands and giving her an amused smile. 

“I know a thing or two,” he said lazily. 

“Well so do I,” she said determinedly. With that she took off, flying around the area without ever looking down to the boy who was staring up at her in awe.

~~~

“Do you hate me or something?”

Tikki looked at him, shocked. They were standing in the middle of the hallway where he had stopped her on their way to class, letting the first years walk ahead of them.

“Where did you get a crazy idea like that?” she asked, readjusting her bag on her shoulder. 

“You’re always avoiding me, and when I talk to you you look annoyed,” Plagg said solemnly. “Did I do something wrong?”

Tikki opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t formulate a response, so she closed it again. The boy who was usually so upbeat scuffed his shoe against the ground, looking like a cat who was left out in the rain. 

“If I did,” he continued when she didn’t respond, “then I’m really sorry, and if you tell me what it is then I’ll make sure never to do it again.”

Tikki stared at him, not really sure what to say. They stood there in awkward silence for a few moments. 

Eventually she asked, “Why do you care so much?”

He shrugged, digging his toe into the ground again. 

“You seem really cool, and I wanna be your friend. That’s all.”

Tikki noticed the way his eyes were constantly drawn to the top of her head where her hair was pulled back into a bun. 

“And you like my hair?” she guessed with a teasing smile. 

Plagg grinned for the first time in the conversation, even if it was a bit shy. 

“And I like your hair.”

Tikki smiled in amusement. 

“Well c’mon then,” she said after a moment, gesturing for him to walk in the same direction she was. “We’re gonna be late for Charms at this rate.”

She starting walking down the corridor, stopping after a few steps when she noticed that Plagg wasn’t beside her. 

She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Are you coming or not?”

She watched as he shook himself out of whatever daze he was in, giving her a wide smile full of happiness. Tikki didn’t think she’d ever seen him smile that big before. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” Plagg said excitedly, jogging up to stand beside her. 

She smiled at him in return. 

“So,” he started to say, but had to pause to clear his throat. “So did I do anything?”

“No,” she said immediately, shaking her head. She didn’t like seeing him like this, it was almost unnatural. “You didn’t do anything, and I didn’t hate you. Still don’t.”

Plagg let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, because as much as I like you I don’t think that I could change anything about me.”

Tikki laughed, immensely glad that he was back to normal. 

“And I wouldn’t want you to,” she said with care. “Friends like each other for who they are, and if I asked you to change something about yourself for me that I wouldn’t be much of a friend, would I?”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you,” he said, pointing a finger at her with a smile. 

They talked the entire way to class, ending up arriving late because of Plagg stopping her in the hall but they blamed it on exploring the castle and then getting lost. 

The professor mumbled something about silly Gryffindors and their sense of adventure, how it was gonna get them into trouble someday. 

~~~

**Year 2**

~~~

“That’s not how you say it.”

Plagg looked up at the girl standing next to his desk, who was looking at him disapprovingly. 

“What?” he asked eloquently. 

“The spell, you’re saying it wrong,” Tikki explained. “That’s why it’s not working for you.” 

“Who made you the expert on saying spells right?” Plagg asked, insulted that she would even imply that he was doing it wrong.

“Try stressing the middle syllable instead of the end,” she suggested, as if he hadn’t spoken. 

Plagg looked at her skeptically. 

The girl rolled her eyes. 

“Just trust me, okay?”

He gave her another look before turning back to the needle and the pencil. He did as she said, but the objects still remained the same. 

He turned to her with a pointed look. 

“See? It didn’t work.”

“You need to flick your wrist more,” she said thoughtfully, looking at his hand. 

Plagg did the wand movement, doing as she instructed. 

“Like this?”

She shook her head. 

“No, like this,” then she grabbed his wrist, bending it more that what he was used to. “If you do it like that then it should work.”

But Plagg wasn’t really listening to what she was saying. He was staring at their hands, eyes wide as his mind went into overdrive. _She’s touching me she’s touching me she’s touching me-_

“You got it?” Tikki said as she pulled her hand away, and Plagg was finally able to think straight. 

“Why should the wrist need to move more?” he joked, trying to make sure his voice wasn’t too wobbly. “It’s not very efficient and takes up too much time.”

She rolled her eyes at him, telling him to “just try it” before she walked away.

Plagg watched her as she sat down in the desk behind him, but quickly looked away once she turned around and he was in her field of vision again. She couldn’t know that he was staring at her. 

He looked town to the two items we was trying to switch. Taking a deep breath, he said the spell again and moved his wand, exactly how Tikki told him too. 

The tip of the needle was switched with the top of the pencil, the boundary looking seamless as if they were made that way. 

He looked down at his project in awe. He couldn’t believe that he did it.

Plagg turned around and gave his friend a wide smile in thanks, to which she just winked.

That totally didn’t make him blush. Nope not at all. 

~~~

“Miraculous?” Plagg asked, sharing a confused look with his friend beside him before both looking up to the adults sitting in front of them.

“Yes, and you are chosen to take them next,” one of the women explained. “Hawkmoth is growing stronger, and we are getting too old to fight.”

Her partner took her hand, squeezing it in sympathy as the woman blinked back tears. 

She took a deep breath, looking back at the third years with a serious expression. “I personally don’t see why they chose two children, but they did and we are going to do our best to prepare you, if you’re willing.”

Plagg looked at Tikki, only to find her staring back at him with a determined glint in her eye. She nodded firmly at him, which he returned.

Tikki turned back to the two women in front of her, more serious than Plagg had ever seen her. 

“We are willing.”

~~~

**Year 3**

~~~

Plagg watched as his partner sat next to a very confused first year, parchment spread out across the table as she helped the boy study for potions. He was supposed to be studying as well, but he had gotten distracted by the way the candlelight glinted off of her hair and the amount of compassion she was showing this one student. She really was amazing.

“And which ingredient would be used as a thickening agent?”

“Um…” the boy said, looking down at his notes.

“Oh no,” Tikki admonished, covering the parchment with a hand. “Don’t look at your notes, I know you know this.”

The boy looked upward instead, biting his lip in thought. “Flobberworm mucus?” he said, his tone implying that it was more of a question than a statement.

Tikki shook her head. “Don’t ask me, tell me. What ingredient is used as a thickening agent.”

The boy sat up straighter. “Flobberworm mucus,” he said with more confidence.

“Yes! See, I knew you had it in you,” she said with pride, poking his nose with a finger, making him giggle. 

“Thank you Tikki,” he said as they started to gather up all of the parchment. “You’ve really helped me a lot this year. I don’t think I would’ve passed potions without you.”

“Sure you could’ve,” Tikki waved him off, handing him his papers. “You know all of the information, you just need to be more confident in yourself. I didn’t really do anything.”

“But still, thank you,” he said, standing up with a smile.

Tikki smiled in return, standing up as well. “You’re very welcome. Good night.”

“Good night.” 

Tikki watched the boy walk up the stairs to the boy’s dormitory with a smile. Then she sighed and gathered up her things, making her way over to Plagg’s table.

“I swear, that little dude has a crush on you,” he said as she sat down at his table. 

“What, are you jealous?” she teased.

“No, of course not,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand, responding a little too quickly. He looked down at his parchment and pretended to work so he wouldn’t have to look at her. 

If he had been looking at her he would’ve seen her give him a skeptical and a little disappointed look, before turning back to her own homework with a sigh.

Throughout the night they both kept sneaking glances at the other, one looking away as soon as the other raised their head. 

Plagg didn’t really do his work that much, instead he kept trying to think of something to say but always coming up short. 

Tikki threw herself into her work, trying to distract herself from any thought she may have about the boy sitting next to her. 

It was a long night for both of them.

~~~

**Year 4**

~~~

Plagg fell back onto the common room couch, all sweaty and exhausted. 

“Why did we ever agree to do this,” he groaned. 

“Because we were chosen and it’s our duty to protect people,” Tikki answered simply, sitting on the arm rest near his face with a sigh. That particular day of training had been brutal, and she knew that her arms were going to be sore for a least a few days. 

“But why does it have to be so _hard,”_ he whined, throwing his arm over his face with a pout. 

“You’ve said that every day for a year, yet you’re still here,” she teased but smiled fondly, shaking her head at him. She may agree, but he could be such a drama king sometimes. 

“You know what we need?” Plagg said suddenly, sitting up and facing her with renewed energy.

“What?” she asked, almost afraid of his answer. 

“A snack,” he said, getting up and placing himself in front of her, causing her to crane her neck up to look up at him and try not to stare at his chest. 

“A snack,” Tikki deadpanned. “Where are we gonna get a snack this late?”

Plagg gave her that devilish smile that he wore whenever he was about to do something particularly stupid. Which was most of the time.

“Just trust me,” he said, walking away toward the steps to his dormitory. “Meet me down here in half an hour!”

~~~

“Plagg, I don’t think we should be doing this,” Tikki protested softly.  

“C’mon red,” he whispered over his shoulder, his hand squeezing hers. “Have some courage, you _are_ a Gryffindor.”

“There’s a difference between having courage and doing something stupid,” she shot back quietly as he looked around a corner.

“Do you want a snack or not?” he asked, pulling her around the corner once he knew the coast was clear. 

“It was you who wanted a snack, not me!”

“I didn’t force you to come with me,” he pointed out, smiling at her over his shoulder. 

Tikki didn’t have a response so she stayed silent.

They made it to the kitchens without incident, although the time where he put his hand on the small of her back and she internally freaked out almost counted in her book.

Once he knew the coast was clear, Plagg walked over to the huge pantry, immediately going toward the cold section and grabbing some cheese. 

“I swear, with your obsession with cheese you could be a mouse,” Tikki said once she saw what he was holding.

“Nuh uh,” he protested, setting the package onto the counter. “Mice are gross and I will not tolerate being compared to one.”

“Hmmm,” she said thoughtfully as she walked over to stand next to him, taking her own piece of cheese. Suddenly she straightened up, a big smile on her face.

“How about a cat?”

He gave her an unamused look. 

“A cat?”

“Yeah!” she said excitedly. “Your miraculous is a cat, you love to lay in the sun and do nothing, and you love when people pet you.”

“Ok, you made that last part sound really weird.”

“I _meant_ you like it when people play with your hair,” she said defensively, taking another piece of cheese so she wouldn’t have to look at him. 

Plagg swallowed his bite of cheese. “No, I like it when _you_ play with my hair.” He leaned his elbows on the counter, looking at her lazily with a smirk. “There’s a difference.”

He had grown taller in the past year or so, and Tikki knew this, but their differences in height was made prominent when he leaned against the counter, because then their faces were on the same level. Something that Tikki was acutely aware of. 

“So, like this?” she said, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair, which was much easier to do now that he was closer to her height.

Plagg closed his eyes and sighed, making sure to stay still so she wouldn’t stop. “Yes, exactly like that.”

She continued to pet him, her fingers going through his hair and making some it stand on end. That got boring after a while, and Tikki gathered enough courage to place her hand on his cheek, softly stroking it with her thumb. 

Plagg slowly opened his eyes at the new sensation, looking at her with a expression that she had never seen him wear before. Tikki sucked in a breath when he shifted a little closer, his gaze darting to her lips. She leaned a little closer as well, until their lips were centimeters apart. They held that position for a few moments, the noise being their breaths intermingling. 

“We should probably get some sleep,” Tikki whispered reluctantly, breaking the silence. 

Plagg could feel her breath on his cheeks and wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but her statement was clear. She didn’t want to kiss him. Plagg hoped that meant just right now, and didn’t apply forever. 

He backed away from her, giving as reassuring smile when he saw her giving him an apologetic one. If she didn’t want to kiss him, he wouldn’t force it.

He put the cheese away, and they both started to walk toward Gryffindor Tower. They didn’t hold hands this time, which both Plagg and Tikki were secretly not very happy about. Neither talked, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. They were both comfortable enough with each other that they didn’t need to talk. That doesn’t mean that they wish the other would say something, though. 

“You there!” 

The two fourth years turned around toward the voice, both of them seeing the caretaker of Hogwarts running towards them. 

Plagg felt a pressure on his hand, quickly looking down then following the arm up to its owner.

“Run!” Tikki yelled at him, pulling him down the corridor in the opposite direction of the caretaker. They rounded a few corners, Tikki leading him to Merlin knows where, the man too close for comfort behind them.

_“Here,”_ she pointed to a small alcove to their right, and they ran and hid in the tight space, both trying to quiet their breathing so they wouldn’t be found. 

They heard the caretaker run past, muttering something about stupid kids and how they’re always hungry. 

They waited there for a few moments, both straining to hear any kind of sign that the caretaker was coming back, but he never did. 

They seemed to realize this at the same time, because they both relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. And it was in that same moment that they realized how close they were standing. 

They looked at each other in shock, neither of them knowing what to do. 

Tikki glanced down at their still-clasped hands, squeezing his with her own. 

Plagg swallowed, and did the same. 

He held his breath as she reached the other hand up, stroking his cheek just like she did before. He felt like his heart stopped in his chest. 

Plagg felt like he dies when her hand left his cheek, instead sliding back to run through the strands at the back of his head. He wanted to close eyes to enjoy the feeling, but he wouldn’t dare. Not when she was looking at him like that. 

Tikki lightly pulled, bringing his head down more to her level, her going up on tiptoes. They both stopped moving when their faces were as close as they were before, but this time it was Plagg who did the stopping. 

“Are you sure?” Plagg whispered, searching her eyes for any hesitation.

“Yes,” she breathed, pulling him the rest of the way down and pressing her lips against his.

Plagg made a noise at the back of his throat, finally allowing himself to close his eyes. He moved his lips against hers slowly as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. _Oh Merlin he loved when she did that._

Tikki shifted on her toes, trying to keep herself balanced. Plagg noticed, and promptly picked her up so that her face was more level with his, never breaking their kiss once. Tikki let out a squeak in surprise, but quickly accepted it and placed both of her arms around his neck. 

After a minute or so Plagg pulled away from her a little but didn’t set her down, both of their breathing short.

“What happened to going to sleep?” he asked.

“I changed my mind. Plus, this is way more fun,” she replied, running her fingers through his hair, “don’t you think?”

Plagg agreed wholeheartedly, leaning forward to capture her lips again. 

He wouldn’t say that their sense of adventure got them into trouble, but rather it made them courageous enough to take the risk and fall, hoping that the other would catch them. And like true partners, their faith was not misplaced.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki and Plagg will always be together, no matter if it’s helping out a little Slytherin first year or taking down Hawkmoth, and Plagg makes sure that will never change by the end of their seventh year.

**Year 5**

~~~

“No, really,” Plagg said through his laugh, wrapping his arm tighter around her shoulders. “It totally happened.”

“It did not,” she protested with a laugh of her own. 

“Did so! And I have the scar to prove it,” he said, but she didn’t respond. She wasn’t listening to him anymore. 

Tikki’s eyes were trained on the scene at the end of the hallway, where two Gryffindors were yelling at a smaller Slytherin boy. 

“Hey, you two!” she yelled, projecting her voice so that they they could hear her anger.

The older boy and girl looked up, saw them, then immediately ran away. 

Tikki and Plagg rushed over to the Slytherin boy and started to gather his stuff that had fallen out of his bag. Plagg had to stop Tikki from running after the Gryffindors, saying that they needed to help the boy first. Tikki agreed begrudgingly.  

“Hey kid, are you alright?” Plagg asked gently.

The boy’s eyes were wide with fear when he noticed their red and gold ties.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you,” Tikki reassured with a kind smile, handing him a stack of his papers. 

The boy grabbed them slowly, as if afraid she was going to pull them away as soon as he reached out. She didn’t, of course.

“Where were you headed, little guy?” Plagg asked, standing back up. 

“T-to my common room,” he stuttered out. 

“Do you want us to walk you there?” Tikki offered, still kneeling down to his level. “We’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

He looked at them a moment before slowly nodding. 

The two Miraculous holders did as they said and walked the kid down to the dungeons, talking to him and making sure that he was comfortable the entire way.

“Thank you,” the boy said sincerely once they had reached the entrance to his common room. 

“Our pleasure,” Tikki said with a smile. 

“Not all Gryffindors are bad, and the same can be applied to Slytherins,” Plagg said, looking down at the boy with care. “The house doesn’t define the person, alright?”

“Okay, I’ll remember,” the boy said smiling, turning to the wall to say the password, and let himself into his common room.

As soon as the door slid shut Tikki’s smile dropped.

“I need to go after them,” she stated, going to walk back to their own common room.

“Don’t strain yourself,” Plagg said, holding her back. “We had that nasty fight with those akuma yesterday-“

“I know that Plagg,” she said in frustration, tearing herself away from his grip. “I just want to help. They need to know that what they were doing is not okay.”

“I know,” he said as he stepped closer but didn’t touch her. He knew that she wouldn’t appreciate it right then. “But you can’t help everybody. You need to take care of yourself too.”

She glared at the ground for a few moments before her shoulders slumped. “Yeah you’re right,” she said miserably. 

“What was that?” he asked with a smile. “I don’t think I heard you, my lady.”

“You heard me just fine,” she said, walking back the way they came.

“No, I couldn’t have,” he continued to tease, walking with her. “Because I thought you said that I was right, which never _ever_ happens so my ears must’ve not been working properly.”

“Shut up,” she laughed, nudging his arm with her own.

“Make me.”

They both stopped walking, him looking down at her with a suggestive look while she had a thoughtful expression on her face. 

“I will later,” she said, continuing to walk to the stairs. 

She turned around when she noticed her boyfriend wasn’t following her, instead standing in place with a disappointed look on his face, although he would deny it if she ever brought it up.

Tikki rolled her eyes, walking back over to him and linking her arm with his, forcibly dragging him with her the rest of the way to the staircase.  

“Later, when I will have more time to properly shut you up,” she explained slowly. 

Realization spread across his face, then soon after a goofy grin.

She shook her head at him.

“Dumb kitty.”

~~~

“I never thought that you would be able to stay silent for a day, let alone 2 weeks.”

Plagg turned his head and glared at his girlfriend, unamused. They were sitting in one of the chairs in front of the fire in their common room, Tikki’s back leaning against his chest with his arms around her.

“Like, it still baffles me that you can still eat stuff. How do you not accidentally swallow the mandrake leaf?”

He made a noise at the back of his throat.

“I know, I know,” she waved him off, “you can’t speak. I’m just surprised that you really wanted to become an animagi, since you don’t normally do things that are long and hard.”

Plagg made a choking noise, looking at her in shock.

“I know, I’m mean for setting you up for that one when you can’t make a joke,” she laughed. Plagg felt the vibration of the wonderful sound go through his chest, making his heart soar. He was glad that he could make his lady happy, even though he couldn’t speak. 

They sat there for a few minutes in silence, both of them watching the fire and enjoying each other’s company. But it wasn’t long before their thoughts turned somber. 

“I can’t believe they’re gone.”

Plagg lifted his head off of her shoulder and placed a kiss there. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

“We didn’t even finish training.”

Plagg squeezed his arms around her tighter.

Tikki sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We just need to try our best.”

Plagg nodded, his chin hitting her shoulder. 

It was silent for a few moments before she asked, “Is that why you wanted to become an animagi? To be better prepared, try and compensate for the training that we missed?”

He burried his face into her back, not moving for a little bit before nodding. 

Tikki placed her hands on top of his arms and squeezed them.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered with pride. 

Plagg smiled, and he knew that she felt it through her shirt.

Silence fell over them once again, each of them reminiscing their time with their Kwamis. It was quiet for so long that Plagg almost fell asleep, but was brought out of it by his girlfriend and partner’s beautiful voice. 

“I wish we had gotten a chance to say goodbye.”

Plagg let out a bittersweet smile and leaned his head against hers, squeezing her waist in agreement. 

They might not have their Kwami anymore, but they had each other, and that comforted both of them more than they could say. 

~~~

**Year 6**

~~~

“ _Ladybug!”_ Black Cat shouted, reaching out the hand that wasn’t broken toward his lady, wishing that he could _stop being useless and get up and MOVE._

He watched helplessly as Hawkmoth, surrounded by the tall, dark trees of the Forbidden Forest, stood over Ladybug, his wand trained on her chest. 

“My powers may not be destructive in nature, but I will have no problems destroying you, Ladybug.”

“You’ve done enough destruction already,” she said, glaring at him as she held her severely bruised side. 

 _One of her ribs has got to be broken,_ Black Cat thought to himself. 

“Which is why I will have no problem destroying one more thing,” he said with a sneer. “Actually, two more things.” He looked over to where Black Cat was laying on the ground, his injuries rendering him useless. “But I don’t think he will be much of a problem, especially after his lady dies.”

That was enough for Black Cat. He grit his teeth and reached out to grab his wand that had rolled a distance away from him, having to shift his body over the fallen leaves a couple of times to get there. He held his wand in a tight grip and trained it at Hawkmoth, who was now leaning down and reaching a hand toward Tikki’s earrings.

Black Cat focused on the energy of his ring, willing all of the power to surge throughout this body. He almost passed out from the effort, but he held on. His lady needed him.

 _“Cataclysmus!”_ he shouted with all of his might. 

The spell manifested at the tip of his wand before shooting out and hitting the ground at Hawkmoth’s feet. Definitely not what he was aiming for, but good enough. The ground that Hawkmoth was standing on started to wobble, causing him to loose his balance.

Tikki let out a defiant shout, kicking up one of her legs to knock the wand out of his hand, sending it flying. She got up as quick as she could while trying to keep her balance on the shaking ground, holding a hand to her side as she winced in pain, and Plagg could tell that she was favoring one leg over the other. She fired a few spells at the villain, and he dodged most of them, but not her _Sectumsempra_ spell. He fell back onto the now still ground, cuts starting to form all over his body. 

“Your time is over, Hawkmoth,” she said with a surprisingly strong voice. “You will never do evil again as long as Ladybug and Black Cat are here.”

Hawkmoth smiled. Blood had started to fill his mouth, staining his teeth red. It was truly a gruesome sight. He spit out some of the blood so he could speak. 

“We shall see, Ladybug, we shall see.” 

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his skull fell back on the ground with a thud. Hawkmoth didn’t move again. 

Ladybug limped over to his body and hastily unpinned the Miraculous from the base of throat. Then she ran over to where Black Cat was trying to lift himself off of the ground. 

“No don’t get up!” she yelled at him, pushing him back to the ground. He couldn’t protest much, he was so weak. 

“How could you have been so stupid?” she cried, wincing at the sight of his clearly broken leg and arm, and the huge bloody burn that cut deep across his chest.

“I had to do my job,” he said weakly. “And that’s to keep my lady safe.”

“No you dummy,” she said through the lump in her throat. “Your job is to be my partner and stand by my side. How can you do that with a broken leg?”

“Just give me a branch or something.” He winced as he shifted his body, the movement stretching his burned skin. “I can use it as a crutch.”

“Uh huh,” she said unamused. “And what about that huge hole in your chest, hm?”

Black Cat laughed but it quickly turned into a cry of pain. Ladybug placed a hand on his cheek, looking down at him with deep concern and affection. 

“Why did you take the spell for me?” she whispered, searching his eyes for an explanation. 

“Because I love you, Tikki,” he said sincerely. “I thought that would be obvious by now.”

Tikki finally let out a sob, leaning her forehead against his as she gripped the sides of his face, careful not to touch his wounds. 

“I love you too, you idiot.”

_~~~_

Tikki’s eyes never left the hospital bed next to hers since she had woken up 3 days ago. Every moment was spent watching Plagg for any sign that he would wake up. 

After the battle everything was a blur. She vaguely remembered someone finding them and trying to take Plagg away from her, to which she protested as much as her hurt and worn out body could. She calmed down when she realized that the centaurs, for those were the creatures who had come, were trying to help. 

They put her on one of their backs, Black Cat on another. She had said that she wanted to ride with him but both of their wounds were too severe to allow that, as one of the centaurs had said. They started to ride toward the castle, and that was the last thing that Tikki remembered. 

She had woken up in the hospital ward at Hogwarts a few hours later, her head aching but most of her wounds healed by magic. 

Plagg’s wounds, however, were more complicated, as the healer would tell her later. The spell that had created the cut/burn across his chest was doing horrible things to his body. It was slowly poisoning him and draining him of his magical energy.

The healer said that she was doing everything she could to get him back to normal, but it was slow going. She had just stopped the effects of the spell using a combination of potions and complex spells that she had to read out of an old textbook she had, so the poisoning and draining of his magical energy had stopped, but the effects were still there.

The healer had said that he would recover from the poison in time. Since his body had been through so much she couldn’t do anything to help, so his body just had to naturally purge it from his system. That should take around 2 weeks, if he doesn’t strain himself. 

His magical energy, however…

Tikki sighed as her thoughts turned in that direction once again. He had almost magically exhausted himself putting so much of his own power behind _cataclysmus,_ and with the spell taking even more of it, the situation did not look good _._ The healer had hope that his normal power levels would eventually return, which were abnormally high anyway, so even if he fell short he would still be ok. But there was always the possibility that it would never return. 

It had been 3 days since she had woken up, with no movement on Plagg’s end. 

3 days where she had nothing to do but sit there and think as she recovered.

3 days filled with ‘what if’s and ‘I hope’s and ‘I love you’s as she stared at his unmoving body.

It was positively pathetic. But she didn’t care. 

Thinking back on it (and she had a lot of time to do so) she realized that Plagg had become an integral part of her life. Ever since she had met him at the train station 6 years ago, he had always been there. No matter what. They had studied together, laughed together, cried together, and had been hurt together. They were even chosen to be Miraculous holders together. They were two halves of a whole, just like their Miraculouses. 

 _Well, that’s not exactly true,_ Tikki thought to herself. She was a whole person by herself, and so was Plagg. But they had shared so much together that removing him from her life… it would feel like there would be a hole in both her world and her heart, one that only Plagg could fill. They brought out the best in each other, and she was grateful to have found someone who accepted her for who she was, and was able to do so in return. 

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard someone enter the hospital ward. She briefly darted her eyes toward them, and upon finding it to be Professor Fu, they returned to her partner. 

Professor Fu stopped a little ways away from their beds and stood there in silence. Tikki could tell that he was observing them.

“Can I help you, sir?” she asked after a few moments. 

“Actually, it is you who can help me.”

That got her attention. With one last look at Plagg she turned her head toward the older man. “Excuse me?”

“I know you are the holder of the good luck Miraculous,” he said seriously. “And Mr. Plagg here holds the bad luck.”

Tikki stared at him in shock. No one was supposed to know that _how does he know-_

“I felt the energy from your fight with Hawkmoth all the way from here,” he said, as if he could read her mind. As far as she knew he could. “It must’ve been some battle.”

Her eyes returned to the bed next to hers. “Yeah it was,” she said quietly. Then she turned back to the professor. “How did you know it was us?”

“I could feel your magical presence change after you got your Miraculouses 4 years ago,” he said sagely. “Well, that, and your Kwami told me.”

Tikki’s eyes went wide. “You knew them?”

“Of course, we go way back,” Fu said with a wave of his hand. “They discussed with me when it would be best to start training you, and kept me updated on your progress. They were both very proud of you, and I’m sure they still would be if they were with us.”

The young woman smiled at the memory of their Kwami. The two women had been amazing teachers and great people, and it was sad when her and Plagg had to let them go.

“I know their deaths were unexpected,” Fu continued, “and that your training was incomplete because of it, but you both have done a _miraculous_ job in keeping the peace, and I know that you will continue to do so into the future.

“Speaking of,” he said, stepping closer to her bed, “I believe you have Hawkmoth’s Miraculous? If you will give it to me I shall keep it safe.”

Tikki looked at him skeptically. “How do we know that we can trust you?”

Fu gave her an understanding smile. “You can’t, not right now. I haven’t given you a reason to entrust me with something so important. But I hope that come time, you will learn to trust me, and that we all can become friends.”

He paused and looked down. “Your Kwami and I were very good friends, and I shall treasure their friendship forever.” He looked back up at Tikki. “If we could be good friends as well… that would make me a very happy man. You will come to realize soon enough that being a Miraculous holder is a lonely existance.”

Fu turned to look at Plagg laying on his hospital bed. “Well, I guess not so lonely to you two,” he said with a laugh, “Still, if you could spare some of your time to an old man like me, I would be grateful.” He paused, observing Plagg in silence for a moment before continuing. “I know that he will make a full recovery. You two have been through too much for something like this to stop you.”

He looked back at Tikki. “He should be waking up soon, and I’m sure you want to be alone when he does. I shall take my leave.”

He started walking toward the door, his hands behind his back. 

“Feel free to come talk to me anytime,” he said over his shoulder, then he started to whistle. He finally made his way to the hall, making sure to close it behind him as he left. 

Tikki stared after him the entire time. _What a strange man,_ she thought to herself. 

It was at that moment that she heard movement. He head snapped back to Plagg’s bed to find him, with his bright green eyes that she had missed so much open, adjusting himself slightly atop his bed and trying to sit up, hissing through his teeth. 

“Plagg!” she shouted, both in joy and admonishment. She rushed out of bed and put her hands on his shoulders to hold him down. “Don’t move, you’re not fully healed yet!”

“What was that about?” he rasped, throat too dry to manage anything else and completely ignoring her concern.

“Stop moving and I’ll tell you!” 

He shifted one more time to get comfortable before he stopped, looking up at her with a smile that was clearly trying to hide his grimace. “Hey…” 

Tikki’s expression softened, and she reached a hand up to run her fingers through his hair. “Hey.”

“How long have I been out?” he asked, leaning into her hand. 

Tikki noticed how worn his voice was and reached over to the bedside table with her other hand and handed it to him, which he took with a grateful smile. She helped him prop up his head to he could drink it. 

“3 days,” she said. 

Plagg almost choked on his water, causing Tikki to take the cup back and place it on the table again. “3 days?!” he yelled, looking at her in shock. He shook his head. “Wait, what happened to you? Why are you still here?”

Her fingers returned to his hair, trying to calm him down. “The healer said that she knew she couldn’t get rid of me while you were still here, so she kept me for ‘observation’.”

“So you’re not injured?”

“Not anymore,” she said shaking her head.

Plagg visibly sagged into the bed, an expression of pure relief on his face. “Thank Merlin.”

“You should be more concerned about _you_ ,” she admonished, poking his nose slightly. “You had a huge burn across your chest, and a broken arm AND leg. You were way more hurt than I was.”

Plagg moved his arm and leg that used to be broken, finding them to be operational once again. “I love magic,” he said in awe, causing Tikki to giggle at him.

Then he tried to sit up, only for a burning pain to shoot across his chest, causing him to wince. “Why is this not healed yet?” he asked her, his voice strained. 

Tikki ran her fingers through his hair some more, buying herself some time to think of how she should say it. 

“The spell that made that wound,” she started eventually, “was poisoning you, and draining you of your magical power.” She took a deep breath. “The healer just stopped it a few hours ago.”

Plagg shifted again, looking at her in confusion when he found that it still caused him pain. “So why does it still hurt?”

“She didn’t want to overexert your body by healing the wound itself with magic. It will have to heal on its own.”

Plagg breathed out, looking down at his chest in disappointment, as if it was it’s fault. “Well that sucks.”

Tikki laughed a little. “Yes, yes it does.”

“But everything else is good? How much longer do I have to stay here?”

The young woman once again took a moment to think. “While the healer did stop the poisoning and the draining of your power… well, the poisoning will be purged from your system in around 2 weeks, if all goes well. But your power levels…”

Plagg reached a hand over to her free one, the one that wasn’t in his hair, and squeezed it. “What is it?”

“They’re dangerously low,” she said, blinking to keep her tears away. “They may never rise back to normal ever again.”

“Tikki…”

“Why did you use so much of your own power for _cataclysmus,_ Plagg?” she demanded, her look of anger complimented by the tears now flowing down her cheeks. 

“I had to protect you,” he said firmly, squeezing her hand in his again. “That was the only way I could do that.”

“But you magically exhausted yourself, and with the spell…” She sniffed, raising her head to look at the ceiling. “You can never do magic again.”

“You don’t know that,” Plagg reminded her gently. “Didn’t you say that there’s a possibility that it could come back?”

“But what if it doesn’t?” she cried, looking back down at him again. “You will have to give up your Miraculous, and I don’t-“ she broke off unable to continue. 

Plagg pulled on her hand, bringing her down to rest her head on his shoulder. They were careful not to disturb the wound on his chest. 

“I believe without a shadow of a doubt that my power will get back to normal,” he said softly, running his hand over her back as she cried. “But even if it doesn’t and I have to give up my Miraculous… I’ll still be there for you, if you’ll have me. I will support you no matter what and never leave you, even if I can’t use a wand anymore. I’ll find another way to stand by your side, because you are too important to me to let you go over something as silly as me loosing my magic and Miraculous and having to leave Hogwarts forever.”

Tikki laughed a little through her sobs, raising her head to look down at him. The look he was giving her was so full of love and adoration that it made her cry a little harder.

“I’ll never leave you either,” she said through the lump in her throat. “Of course I’ll still want you with me, even if you have don’t magic anymore. As long as I’m still with you, I’ll be happy.”

He reached up to stroke her cheek, and Tikki placed her hand over it to keep it there.

“I love you,” he said.

Tikki smiled at him, leaning down to give him a kiss. 

“I love you too.”

They hugged and there was silence for a moment before she said: “By the way, I don’t know where Hawkmoth’s Miraculous is.”

Plagg pulled back, looking into her face that was covered with guilt. 

“What do mean?”

“I must’ve dropped it on the way back to the castle. I woke up but I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

“It’s ok,” he said, brushing the hair out of her face. “We can deal with that later, alright? It’s deep in the forest, no one will find it.”

Tikki nodded. “Hopefully.”

~~~

**Year 7**

~~~

Tikki rubbed her eyes, trying to force the tiredness out of them. She had been studying for her NEWTs for hours, and she was beyond ready to go to bed. 

She told the password to the portrait, ignoring the lady’s comments about how horrible she looked with bags under her eyes as she walked through. Tikki stopped in her tracks when her tired brain registered a boy sprawled out on his back across the couch, the firelight glinting off the droll coming out of his opened mouth. He was snoring so loudly it was a wonder that she hadn’t heard it from the other side of the painting. 

“Plagg?” the small 17 year old asked softly. 

When he didn’t respond to her she rolled her eyes, softly padding over to him. 

“Plagg,” she said more firmly, leaning over him slightly. 

He didn’t even flinch. 

She reached out a hand and shook his arm. “Plagg, you gotta wake up.”

Plagg groaned as he reached out, encircling Tikki’s waist with his arms and pulling her on top of him, causing her to drop her books to the floor and yelp in surprise. He snuggled deeper into the cushions, squeezing her closer with a contented hum. Tikki’s cheek was smushed against his chest, and it was so comfortable that she had to fight the urge to fall asleep right then and there. 

She shifted against him a little. “Plagg-“

“Shh,” he whispered, reaching a hand up to stroke her hair which felt _really nice_. “It’s nap time.”

“No, it’s night time, and you need to go to your own bed.”

“You remember the first time I met you?” he mumbled, barely able to get his words out through his tiredness. 

Tikki was confused by the change in subject, but decided to humor him anyway. “Yes I do, what about it?”

“I was so fascinated by your hair,” he said, lifting up his hand to let the red strands fall through his fingers. “I had never seen that color before, so I had to ask if it was real.”

“Oh, so you just like me for my hair,” she teased. “I should’ve known, you even said so when we became friends. Good to know I wasted all these years thinking you liked me for my personality or something equally as crazy.”

“I love your personality, your hair,” he said as he twirled a strand around his finger, “your encouraging words, even if they are annoying sometimes.”

Tikki laughed slightly at that. 

“Your bravery, your kindness, your confidence,” he continued. “Your ability to always look on the bright side of things, which I used to find _so annoying.”_

She poked his side for that comment, causing him to yelp a little before laughing.

“It’s true, but now I love it.” Plagg lifted his head up and kissed the top of her head. “I also love how you’re able to come up with a solution for anything, no matter how hopeless it may seem. I love the determined glint in your eye while we’re fighting, because I know you will do whatever it takes to defeat the enemy.”

His hand left her hair, running down the back of her spine instead, making her shiver slightly. 

“I love how dedicated you are to your studies. I love how caring you are to the other students, how you believe in them and encourage them to be the best they can be.”

He wrapped his arms around her again, bringing her higher up on his chest. Tikki lifted up her head and helped him shift her, resting her chin on a hand atop his chest. 

“I love how you believe in _me,_ and you encourage _me_ to be the best that I can be,” he said quietly, staring into her eyes so she knew how serious he was. 

“Silly kitty,” she said not without affection, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. 

He leaned up, brushing his lips against hers. 

“But most of all,” he whispered, and Tikki could feel his lips move with every syllable, “I love _you.”_

Tikki smiled wider than she had in a while. “I love you too, kitty.”

Then she kissed him lovingly and sweetly, and she could tell that Plagg was pouring every bit of affection he could into the kiss. She didn’t know what had made him so sentimental that night, but she definitely wasn’t complaining. 

They broke their kiss, Tikki snuggling back into his chest as she stared at the dying fire. She felt Plagg rest his chin on top of her head, and she smiled, perfectly safe and content. 

Eventually her eyes began to droop shut, all remaining thoughts about going to her own bed forgotten. She had almost passed out when she felt Plagg take a deep breath, making her head rise with the movement of his chest. 

“Hey Tikki?” she felt rather than heard him ask.

“Hm?” she acknowledged, her brain still half-asleep.

There was a long silence before she heard him say nervously, “Wanna get married?”

When she didn’t respond for a few moments, instead simply raising her head to look at him, he got even more anxious and continued to speak. “I mean, we don’t have to right _now,_ we’re still young and everything, but whenever I think about the future you’re always in it and we’re happy, and all I want to do is be happy with you forever, so I just thought-“

He stopped talking when she placed a hand over his mouth, a soft smile on her face. Once she was sure that he wasn’t going to speak anymore she moved her hand to his cheek and gently stroked it with her thumb. 

“Of course I’ll marry you, silly kitty. I thought we already decided this when I said that I would never leave you,” she said tenderly with a hint of amusement.

“Yeah, well, that was a year ago, and you could’ve changed your mind since then because, you know, we’re not fighting evil anymore and you don’t really _need_ me-“

Plagg was cut off again, but this time by Tikki’s laugh. He swore that angels would stop singing to hear her laugh. 

“Would I still be with you if I really felt that way?” she asked pointedly, still laughing slightly.

Plagg shrugged. “I thought it was a legitimate question,” he pouted.

The young woman took pity on him, sitting up on his lap and pulling him up with her so that they were face-to-face, holding their clasped hands between them. If he wanted a serious discussion, then they needed to treat it like one.

“Yes, I will marry you Plagg,” she stated, completely sincere and serious. “I cannot think of a future without you in it. Every moment we spend together is precious to me, and I want to have those moments for the rest of my life. Whenever we fight it physically pains me, and even when I’m mad at you I can’t wait for us to make up again so I can continue to be with you. 

“You are amazing, wonderful, _miraculous,_ if you will.” They both had to laugh at that. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.”

Plagg grinned. “I thought we already decided that when I asked you to marry me?”

“You could’ve changed your mind,” she said with a shrug. “That was a whole minute ago.”

He removed his hands from hers, instead wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Of course, she hugged him back. 

“Yes, I will have you,” he said into her hair. “In any way that I can.”

“Well once we get married you’ll have me in _every_ way,” she said, pulling back. “Including Morning Tikki, which is not pretty.”

“You’re always pretty,” he immediately responded. “And if you think Morning Tikki is bad, you should see Hungry Plagg.” He shuddered. “It’s horrible.”

“I’ve known you for 7 years,” she reminded him. “I’ve seen Hungry Plagg before. I just need to give you some cheese and you’ll be fine. You, however, have never seen just-woken-up, hair-a-mess, stinky-breath Tikki.”

“I can’t wait to see that Tikki. Because that means that we share a bed,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You know it’s not attractive when you do that, right?”

He gasped. “How dare you? I’m always attractive.”

“Yeah sure,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, where’s the ring?”

Plagg just stared at her. “What ring?”

Tikki’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. “Don’t tell me that you proposed but you don’t even have a ring.”

The young man smiled. “Of course not, I’m just joking.”

He reached out for his wand that was sitting on the coffee table next to the couch, raising it toward the stairs and saying, _“Accio ring!”_

Soon enough a little box came flying down the stairs and into his hand. 

“So glad that I have my magic back,” he said in relief. “Or else I could’ve had to go get it.”

“Oh yes,” Tikki said in mock-sympathy. “Walking up all those stairs would’ve been _torture_.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘I have a pretty girl on my lap and I don’t want to move’.”

“While that is sweet, just show me the ring,” Tikki said impatiently.

Plagg smiled, opening up the box to show her. And it was beautiful. It was small but vey intricate, with vines and leaves wrapping around the band and the three gems in the center. 

“It’s perfect,” she finally said. “Are you going to put it on me?”

Plagg took the ring out, setting the box aside. He grabbed her left hand, slowly sliding it onto her ring finger. It was a little big, but after a moment it magically shrunk to fit her perfectly. 

Tikki admired the ring, then she looked back at Plagg who had this huge smile on his face, which reminded her of when they had first become friends. 

She placed both of her hands on his cheeks, a happy smile of her own across her lips. “I love you.”

He reached one hand up to grab her wrist, looking at her with that loving look he always had. “I love you too.”

Then they kissed, and both knew that whatever the future held for them, they would always be together. 

Of course they ended up passing out on the couch from exhaustion shortly after that. After they kissed for a little bit Plagg lied back down and Tikki curled up half on top of him, too tired to climb up the stairs to their own beds like Tikki had been so adamant about earlier. 

Morning came and their housemates found them sprawled out on the couch, Tikki’s ring prominent on her finger for all to see. They didn’t disturb the couple despite how much they wanted to ask them questions, instead making sure that everyone was quiet as they passed through the common room. But all bets were off in the Great Hall.

Once Tikki and Plagg had woken up - _“I told you that I have bad morning breath, stop making a big deal out of it.”_ \- and had gotten down to breakfast, they found that they didn’t need to tell anyone that they were engaged, because they all already knew. Including the professors, and Plagg swore that Fu winked at them from the head table. They were not safe from anyone’s questions, however, but Tikki and Plagg found that they didn’t mind very much. They were too happy to care.  

That was the quickest Hogwarts had seen news travel in a long time. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the whole castle shipped them, let's be honest


End file.
